His 1,526th RBI might be the most meaningful of his career. He probably thought he’d never have it.

His single to right field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning scored the winning run in a 2-1 victory over Milwaukee.

They lead the Phillies by a 1/2 game, the Marlins by 1 1/2 and the Nationals by 2 1/2 in the National League wild-card race.

Yet it was much more than that.

Bagwell is the greatest player the Astros have ever had. OK, he joins Craig Biggio has one of the two greatest.

Beyond the raw numbers, beyond the 449 home runs and 2,312 hits, beyond the impact he has had on five playoff appearances, is the fact that he’s absolutely beloved inside the clubhouse.

Did you see the way teammates poured out of the dugout to congratulate him? They were happy about winning a big game in dramatic fashion. But they were absolutely thrilled that it was Bagwell who won it.

He simply is the best teammate, friend and player anyone on that team has ever had. Maybe Derek Jeter has had a similar impact on the Yankees. Maybe Jason Varitek has done something similar for the Red Sox.

Maybe, just maybe, George Brett, Robin Yount and others impacted their franchises in a similar way over the years. Bagwell has set a tone in ways large and small for this franchise.

He probably believed his career was over. Even after Friday night’s hit, we still don’t know how much he has left in the tank.

He can’t play first base because his right shoulder is a mess. We don’t know if he’ll ever play the field again.

The great thing is that he has rehabbed his shoulder to the point of rejoining the party as a pinch-hitter for the final days of 2005.

He saved the Astros on a night when they generated almost nothing offensively, when they left too many runners on base and when they looked like a team that’s going nowhere.

Until Friday, Phil Garner had been afraid to use Bagwell in a key situation. He didn’t want one of the franchise’s two greatest players to embarrass himself. Maybe Bagwell crossed some sort of line tonight. Maybe he’ll have an impact down the stretch.

Maybe he’ll be the designated hitter in the World Series.

• • •

The Astros signed Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte for weeks like this one. Clemens wins the biggest game of the season under unimaginably difficult circumstances. The next night, Pettitte pitches the Astros back atop the wild-card standings.

• • •

The Astros won five of seven against the Phillies and Marlins and now play 14 of their final 16 against teams with losing records.

Meanwhile, the Phillies have three games remaining against the Marlins, three against the Braves and three against the revived Nationals.

The Marlins have six left against the Braves, three against the Phillies and three against the Nationals.

As I type these words, the Astros led the Phillies and Marlins by a game in the loss column (which is the only one that counts) and the Nationals by three.

So as Josh Beckett said the other night: “We don’t need any help. It’s all there in front of us.”

It’s all there for the Astros, too.

The problem for the Astros is they’re putting a patchwork lineup on the field with Morgan Ensberg and Willy Taveras both out.

The other problem is that not all losing teams are created equally. The Brewers are a young team on the rise. They haven’t quit.

The Cubs are a veteran team that expected to win. Those teams have been known to mail it in during the final weeks. The Pirates are in disarray.

• • •

The Anaheim Angels will win the American League pennant. Please don’t clip and save this prediction.

• • •

If David Ortiz doesn’t win the American League’s Most Valuable Player award, it’ll be because voters refused to cast ballots for a Designated Hitter.

But…

He has 50 home runs. Sixteen of those have either tied games or put the Red Sox ahead. Seven of those have come in the seventh inning or later.

To me, those numbers are the walking, talking definition of an MVP.

But as with the Andruw Jones-Albert Pujols debate in the National League, you can argue either way.

A-Rod has had a tremendous season. He has played well defensively.

Can we split the award in both leagues?

• • •

If it’s Friday, someone else must have George Steinbrenner’s ear. One of baseball’s smartest men, Gene Michael, is again on the outs with his boss.

6 Responses

The Brew Crew is becoming a serious thorn in our sides. They knocked us out of the playoffs in ’03. I don’t usually bash other teams, or anyone for that matter; but this Milwaukee team is pretty pathetic. Instead of playing Astros’ spoiler every year in September, they need to start winning year ’round. Give us a break. You don’t want to see anyone not try to win, but I really do want us to beat the crap out of them this weekend. Fans at MMP need to get on this team like they would St Louis, Chicago and the centerfielder that plays at Shea.

Was a fantastic finish tonight Richard. I’ve been spoiled by truly great clutch hitters such as Moises Alou, and Jeff Kent, that it has somewhat overshadowed Bagwell at times in the clutch. I truly believe he is the greatest Astro ever, but to see him come through in such a big way, with all the circumstances leading up to this game just make it that much sweeter.

There will be the talk show callers on Monday who will belittle Bagwell as they always do, but the real fans know just how special of a guy he is to have in any capacity especially on a team struggling on offense as this one is.

You will not vote (if you have a vote, I don’t know) for ARod, because you don’t like him. You said as much on 610 radio earlier this month. Something about ARod being a phoney. Hands down it is ARod. He kept the team in the hunt when they were doing awful earlier in the year. Now they may when the East. What has Ortiz done that is any more remarkable then ARod. Nothing. ARod is a complete player. Ortiz isn’t. Everyone knows that is Bagwell was in ARod’s position, you would vote for Bagwell for the MVP over Ortiz, because you like him. Justice, you are the phoney.

Absolutely not true. I would never not vote for a guy because I didn’t like them. I’ve voted for a bunch of guys over the years I didn’t like. A-Rod doesn’t give a team much in the clubhouse, but he certainly isn’t a negative. The MVP debate in both leagues is close. You could easily argue for any of those four players–A-Rod, Pujols, Ortiz and Jones.

I listened to Milo & Alans call from my computer in New York, and from the moment Bags walked from the on deck circle to the game winning hit, I had the chills. What a fantasticly sureal moment. Kudo’s to MLB for the very cheap rates that they offer radio brodcasts on the net, it has made life in NY with out my ‘Stros a lot easier.

Richard, I also want to say that I really enjoy your blog, it is my number one source for Houston Sports info.